Containers near to canal beauty spot to be shipped out

Containers near to canal beauty spot to be shipped out

LARGE shipping containers installed at a Brierley Hill industrial unit will have to be removed after planners refused permission for them to be there.

A retrospective planning application had gone in to Dudley Council seeking approval for the containers after they had been placed at the rear of Units nine to 12 at Bevan Road Industrial Estate.

But nearby residents and Dudley South MP Mike Wood had raised strong objections to them saying they ruined the character and appearance of the nearby Stourbridge Sixteen Locks Conservation Area – particularly for people enjoying a walk along the canal.

Planning officers agreed and threw the proposal out, meaning the unnamed applicants will have to remove the containers – which measure 12m long, 2.5m wide and are double stacked to a height of 5m.

Mr Wood said: “Both local residents and the Wordsley Residents Association have expressed their concerns to me regarding the planning and heritage matters within this application.

“They feel that the containers, which are double stacked, are already impacting on the living conditions of the occupiers of neighbouring properties that look out onto this Industrial Estate and the visual amenity of those walking along the canal, which is within a Conservation Area.

“My constituents are concerned that these containers are currently partially obscured by leaves from trees.

“But once these trees shed their leaves, the visual impact of these containers will become greater and out of keeping with the area.”

In his report, case officer James Mead said: “The proposed development by virtue of its design, size, scale and position would introduce a discordant and overbearing addition, which would be detrimental to the character of the area and would cause substantial harm to the character of the Sixteen Locks Conservation Area for which there are no public benefits that would outweigh the harm."

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